|
| Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure | 
| Authors: Bill Jamison, Cheryl Alters Jamison
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $6.88
You Save: $18.07 (72%)
New (54) from $6.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 87736
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0060878959
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.59
EAN: 9780060878955
ASIN: 0060878959
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, ships next business day, may have small publisher's mark
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Join Cheryl and Bill Jamison, James Beard Award winners of The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining, on a gastronomic tour around the world After years of writing award-winning cookbooks, renowned culinary experts Cheryl and Bill Jamison were ready to take a break. So in the fall of 2005 they packed their bags, locked up their house in Santa Fe, and set off on a three-month-long visit to ten countries—all on frequent-flier miles. Among their stops were: Bali
Where they celebrated a second honeymoon in Ubud and encountered a rogue monkey Australia
Where they found the world's best breakfast sandwich and visited family-owned wineries Thailand
Where they took a wild ride on an elephant in an enormous forest reserve India
Where they found themselves in the midst of Diwali, the Festival of Lights China
Where they attended a banquet of local Chiu Chow cuisine that required hours of preparation by the "Emeril of Chaozhou" and forty cooks South Africa
Where they went on a safari among rhinos, giraffes, and very hungry lions Brazil
Where they soaked in the sun and Creole flavors of the coastal town of Salvador Combining the intelligence and humor of Anthony Bourdain with the charm and insight of Frances Mayes, Around the World in 80 Dinners transforms traveling into an unforgettable odyssey.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
Armchair travel for foodies. Or maybe armchair food for travelers. October 12, 2008
I have at least three cookbooks by the Jamisons, and all of them are best-of-breed, from the breakfast cookbook to cooking with smoke. So when I saw that they had branched out somewhat into foodie travel, I went out of a way to pick up Around the World in 80 Dinners. After all, I've bought books that cover everything from the best gelato shops in Italy to deciphering German restaurant menus.
I confess that I'm a little disappointed. This book is enjoyable... but I'm not so enthusiastic about it that I'll tell you to go out of your way for it.
The premise is fine: the Jamisons save up their frequent flier miles for a round-the-world trip, and stop in several destinations that have high interest to food fans: Bali, Australia, New Caledonia, Singapore, Thailand, India, China, South Africa, Provence, and Brazil. They catalog their adventures both on the touristy side (a safari in South Africa, a winery tour in Australia) and in food-centric tourist terms (they spend as much time in farmer's markets as they do in restaurants). Each destination includes the nitty gritty details, so you can stay at the same hotel or visit the same restaurants they did, as well as one or two recipes (such as "fried black 'carrot' cake" from Singapore).
Somehow, though, it's only okay. If you picked out any given part of the book, I'd tell you that it's interesting -- these people travel the way that we do. I certainly enjoy hearing about all the great they have to eat, especially the street food. I know a lot more about the food (and other) history of each of these areas, now.
But somehow it's as though the authors are self-consciously talking to the audience, in an as-you-know expository manner that never quite sits well. "...Bill says, marveling, 'What a fantastic blend of flavors and textures, the seafood with the pork, crunch with silky.' 'You're right, a winner for sure. [responds Cheryl] It speaks of a culinary sophistication way beyond the bounds of this humble setting.'" Does anybody talk like that?
It's obvious from the text that the Jamisons took a lot of photos. But you see only a few of them on the front and back cover. I wish there had been more pictures throughout the book; then, perhaps, the text might have come to life.
The result was that, while I'm glad I read the book, I was very distractable. I took a couple of breaks, and read two or three other things, rather than gobble down this book. For me, anyway, it didn't live up to the subtitle of "the ultimate culinary adventure."
So if you have the opportunity to read it... do. But don't put it at the top of your To Be Read Immediately pile.
 BORING !! October 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Like the literary equivalent of reading a birder's checklist of sightings.
I was hoping to get a "you are there" experience of exotic places and people. Instead, I got a few anecdotes, that mostly revealed the curmudeonliness of the authors, and a list of meal ingredients.
It is written in 3rd-person, present-tense with inane dialogue quotes that string together the tally of meals. The following is one example (from page 69).
"Our best meals come at small restaurants with more faithful specializations. One is a mom-and-daughter Vietnamese operation in a strip mall around the corner from out hotel. While the middle-aged daughter handles the cooking in the kitchen, the elderly mother serves the patrons, seating us at one of the two simple tables on the sidewalk, actually more atmospheric than the brightly lit, larger tables inside. For starters, she brings us a platter of delightful fried crab spring rolls, which we wrap in lettuce leaves with pickled ginger and then dip in fish sauce. Bill moves on to a spicy fish preparation, with cubes of the day's catch stir-fried with vegetables in a piquant sauce that gets his nose running again. Cheryl opts for a vermicelli salad with grilled bits of pork and pork balls, served with lettuce leaves, carrot strips, ginger, and peanuts to bundle together for eating.
L'Astrolabe, on the Baie des Citrons, reminds us of numerous seaside bistros on the French Mediterranean, in its menu as well as the alfresco setting. For our lunch, Cheryl chooses the plat du jour, a seafood carpaccio combination. Paper-thin slices of giant clams, salmon, and tuna arrive with seasoning portions of astringent greeen olive oil, coarse sea salt, black pepper, and lime, all arrayed around a mound of garlicky slivered crudite salad. As terrific as this is, she really swoon over the accompanying vegetable side dish. 'It's the sweetest pumpkin I've ever tasted, baked and then pureed with cream and some curry powder.' Bill picks the house meat specialty, a steak tartare with frites called Le Gastrolabe. Chefs prepare it in the kitchen rather that at the table, blending local beef luciously and richly with capers, tomatoes, onions, and gherkins, and flavoring the mixture with subdued but sound hints of parsley, chives, basil, egg yolk, brandy, olive oil, garlic, and Tabasco. The food punches out our congestion for hours."
Do Us A Favor You Two Crazy Kids.... September 18, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
and move to ANOTHER country so you won't have to pretend you're not Americans. There! Solves that huge predicament for you! Can't we even get past the first chapter without reading about how ashamed of the United States you are? In addition to the tired hippy mind-set these two oldsters have, I found the book rawther dull. The use of the third person was pompous (much like an E-TV reenactment), and the overly dramatic recitations of the high-jinks they had were tedious. Reincarnating Flat Stanley? Please.
Great Gift September 15, 2008
I bought this as a gift for a foodie who is also an avid reader. He read it within a week and seemed to genuinely enjoy this book.
 disappointed August 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I wanted to love this book. It has all the components that I love-a memoir, food centered, travel centered, but...it wasn't to be. I found the writing to be inconsistent. Many of the descriptions seemed more like lists of food, ingredients or things that they saw rather than a true description. I also found that the descriptions were often a little too snobby sounding rather than helpful (ie a Merlot is described as having "a vigorous structure, backbone, and tannin". I ended up enjoyed the descriptions of people much more than the food. Still, I usually read straight through the books that I check out and I no longer was interested in finishing the book by the time I was half way through. I kept having to read something else for a while and then see if I could get back into it. Maybe I would have been pulled in with color photos --the ones on the cover are very inviting, or fewer lists or??? I'm not sure.
|
|
|
Wildlife, nature and the Environment
Sponsored Links
Learn how to get your own Amazon Book shop | |
